Jar vise



c. L. SHOBE Feb 21, 1950 JAR VISE Filed Sept. 21, 1946 Inventor Patented Feb. 21, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in vises such as are used for applying and removing screw-caps from socalled fruit and similar jars.

More specifically, the invention appertains to a jar vise which is possessed of new and useful structural features and improvements such as serve, collectively considered, to provide a range of adaptability capable of serving the requirements of adjustability and simplified efficiency.

In carrying out the principles of the invention, I employ a simple and reliable twin bracket adapter and supporting fixture, this being provided with a pair of co-acting arms, the arms being adjustabl mounted in the fixture, disposed in opposed relation for movement toward and from each other and being provided at their outer ends with spring pressed self-adjusting cap grips.

The improved twin-part fixture is characterized by a substantially U-shaped outer member and a co-acting L-shaped inner member, said members being inter-related to provide an attaching flange for connection with a table or other support, and a pair of spaced parallel flanges to accommodate the adjustable inner end portions of the aforementioned grip equipped arms.

The arms too, are believed to be novel, one arm being rectilinearly straight and having a detent and the other arm being L-shaped with the angular inner end portion thereof fashioned into a toothed rack to accommodate said detent.

Another advantage has to do with the provision of a bottle decapper, this being of a projectible and retractible type and being operatively mounted between the aforementioned brackets.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a jaw Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed section taken on the plane of the line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the. direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a. horizontal detailed section on the lined-4 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

edges of the flanges 13 and are provided "with Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the arms.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the remaining arm.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the bottle cap remover per se, and

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken approximately on the plane of the line 8-8 of Figure 1, also looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 is a detail section of the line 99 0 Figure 2.

Briefly summarizing the invention, structurally visualized, is characterized by an attaching fixture, said fixture embodying a U-shaped bracket including spaced parallel top and bottom flanges and an interconnecting web for said flanges, a complemental L-shaped bracket, said L-shaped bracket being positioned within the confines of said U-shaped bracket, the vertical flange of said L-shaped bracket being secured to the connecting web of said U-shaped bracket, the remaining horizontal flange being disposed beneath and in close-spaced parallelism to the top flange of said U-shaped bracket to provide a sheath, an L- shaped arm including coacting limbs, one limb being slidably positioned in said sheath and provided with outwardly facing rack teeth, the other limb projecting outwardly beyond said fixture and being provided with jar-gripping means, a second linearly straight arm having its inner end portion fitted and pivotally mounted in said sheath, said pivotally mounted inner end portion having a lateral detent releasably engaged with said rack teeth and serving to prevent the arms from shifting relative to each during the operation of the vise, the major portion of said second arm projecting outwardly beyond said fixture and being provided on its outer end with jar-gripping means, both of said arms extending divergently away from said fixture.

Reference is had now to the double bracket adapter and attaching fixture, this denoted generally by the numeral 10. The outer bracket is of general U-shaped form in cross-section, the lower flange ll thereof being fastened to a table or the like I 2. The upper flange 13, this of the top plan configuration seen in Figure 2, is disposed at a proper'elevation above the table, the 'same overlying, in spaced parallelism, the top flange [4 of the L-bracket. The vertical flange [5 of the last named L-shaped bracket is secured iv to the intermediate flange l6 of the bracket l0 and 'j is confined between the upper and lower flanges of said bracket l0. Incidentally, the marginal tween the. free outer ends. thereof.

suitably arranged clearance notches l! to permit access to be had to the fastenings I8 which are used to secure the flange H to the table. That is to say, these notches serve to accommodate a screw driver and facilitate attachment of the fixture, as a unit, to the table l2.

The aforementioned rectilinearly straight arm I 9 has its inner end portion located and pivotally mounted, as at 20, between the spaced flanges l3 and 14.. Theremaining L-shaped'arm 21' is-slidably mounted between said flanges. More specifically, the inner lateral branch or extension 22 is slidable between the flanges and against the vertical flange l6 as brought out in the drawings;.

and said extension is provided with rack teeth 23 to accommodate a suitably angled detent' 244mthe inner cooperating end of the-first namedarm I9. It follows that the arms l9 and 2! are manually shiftable and adjustable to properly set apart and thus obtain the desired spacing be- Incidentally, the outer ends of said arms are provided with'stop shoulders 25: and 26: which serve to properly retain the jar cap jaws or gripping devices. The device: is; of the same in. each instance, and: the description of one will suffice: for both; Each device comprises-aU-shaped-clip 2 1 whoseapertured arms 28-are:slidably. mounted on themain supporting arms. The bight portion. of the clip hasa rubber toothed" cap-grip'29 mountedthereon and held in place by an assembling andretaining wire 30;- The grip: is held in1its-outermost position by a coiled spring 3i surrounding the arm and having its innermost coil; 32 suitably anchored on said arm.

In using the structureshown, the fixture In. is fastened rigidly tea-suitable stationary support l2, in the manner shown. Although. the arms 19 and 2| could 'be in vertical planes, they are preferably horizontal and. thus parallel tea-floor. Now, by swinging, the outer end: portion of arm l9'to theright in- Figures 2 andifi the. detent. 2.4 will disengage from the rackt teeth 23. There.- iorer with. said arms disconnected, they. may. be set, by hand, to take the approximate positions needed, depending on the sizeof the. jar. cap.- to be removed. Then, the detent. is rice-engaged with. the rack teeth and the: arms are; readyto function. It is to. be noted, ins this connection, thatsaid arms converge and forma V-pocket-for reception of. the iar. neck. v

1 Next,,place a rag aroundthejar. so-that itwonit turn. in the hands and then press and. force. the cap between the opposed grips29. If said grips are not then ready to bindthecap, simply shove the jarandgrips toward the fixture t0, against the expansion of. springs 31. Obviously, as. the grips ride in on said arms,v they come closer together. until the-required clamping action is had. Thus set, the cap may be dislodged and unscrewed.

The: spring pressed: cap gripping; devices constructed as shown and described aresubstantially self-accommodating and adequately and. satisfactorily: engage the jar cap. in operation in an obvious manner. Thus, by having; the. armsadjustable: 011113116 fixture and: the. gripping, devices adjustable andspring; retained on the. arms, appropriate facilities are. consequently provided. to

achieve-desired. ends in a reliable; and: satisfactory manner. V

The. aforementioned bottle decapner compri es a plate-33. with. lugs 34- and. 35securing, the-plate inplace betweent-heflanges H and. 1.4. asshown in: Figures 1. and. 8. The flange. H. is provided with keeper ribs 36 to hold the plate in a projected useful position. The outer usable edge of the plate is provided with a hook 31 and a shoulder or abutment forming the edge 38 cooperable with the hook. The capper can be swung out to full line position when in use, or swung to an out-of-the-way position as shown in dotted line position when not in use, as seen in Figure 2.

As before mentioned, novelty is predicated upon the? simple" adapter and; attaching fixture, this characterized by an L-shaped bracket fitting within the confines of a U-shaped bracket,

' one flange of the L-shaped bracket being secured to the central or intermediate flange of the U- shaped bracket, and the remaining upper flanges of both brackets being disposed in spaced parallelism toprovide sheath-like means to accommodate the coasting slidably and pivotally mounted ends of the-arms l9 and 2|.

Novelty is thought to reside in the complemental arms, .one. of which is-rectilinearly straight and provided-with a detent and pivotallymounted on. a fixture, and the other. of which is L- shaped, the inner lateral limb thereof being fashionedinto arackto accommodatethe detent andto; thusprovide quick. adjusting and retaining means-capable of rendering the arms readily useful-in evident ways. Also, and added to. the above, I. desire to stress the fixture and arms assembly and the spring pressed self-adapting cushioned. grips carried by the correspondingends of said arms.

Inpractice; the vise may besuitably attached to and employed ona table or the like, or appropriately. mounted on a wall-or equivalentsupporting surface. These. points are made. hereto emphasize the rangeofutility of. the form of the invention chosen to. carry out myideas- Reference being had to Figure 9, it is the purpose of this figure to bring outa structuralphase which. is. possessed of appreciable importance. Thatisto say, it ishighlydesirable that the arm I9 be detached from-.thesheath whenever. necessary or'desiredfor. clismantlingpurposes. Therefore, andas. shown in this figure the headedpin 20, is removable. The lower. end of the pin is grooved and provided with a detachable snapring which is such as to serve to maintain. the pin 20in. place after it. has been. pushed. down and through the. holes in parts [3-, l9 and M. Thepin, by removing, the snap-ring; can also be slipped out and. thus the arm I9 can be readily detached. Consequently since bothpartsl9 and 2 i. are. detachable, expedient. dismantlingv is, provided. for.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the invention as illustrated in the drawings willenable the reader to obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features of. merit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of the invention as. hereinafter claimed.

.Minor chan es in shape,.size,, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted tov .in actual practice so. long, as no. departure is. made from. the. invention as.- claimed.

1. In a jar vise construction. of. the. class. described, an. attaching fixture, said. fixture embodying. a U-shaped bracket. including, spaced parallel top and. bottom flanges. and. an. interconnecting web for said flanges, acomplemental L-shaped, bracket, ;said L -shaped. bracket being positioned. within. the. confines offsaid U-shaped 7 bracket, the vertical flange of said l shaped bracket being secured to the connecting web of said U-shaped bracket, the remaining horizontal flange being disposed beneath and in close-spaced parallelism to the top flange of said U-shaped bracket to provide a sheath, an L-shaped arm including coacting limbs, one limb being slidably positioned in said sheath and provided with outwardly facing rack teeth, the other limb projecting outwardly beyond said fixture and being provided with jar-gripping means, a second arm having its inner end portion fitted and pivotally mounted in said sheath, said pivotally mounted inner end portion having a detent laterally directed away from said other limb and releasably engaged with said rack teeth and serving to prevent the arms from shifting relative to each other during the operation of the vise, the major portion of said second arm projecting outwardly beyond said fixture and being provided on its outer end with jar-gripping means, both of said arms extending divergently away from said fixture.

2. The structure specified in claim 1, said jar gripping means including coiled cushioning and projecting springs surrounding each of said arms, and spring pressed and cushioned cap grips slidably mounted on the outer end portions of said arms, each grip being of U-shaped form and having its arms slidably keyed on the coacting arms, each grip having an arcuate bight portion provided with a correspondingly shaped compressible cushioning pad, the respective padded grips being opposed to each other and the gripping surfaces of the pads being provided with anti-slipping teeth.

CHESTER L. SHOBE'.

REFERENCES CITED The following references file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS are of record in the Number Name Date 1,049,277 Sharon Dec. 31, 1912 1,764,071 Foulke June 17, 1930 1,994,532 Ratzlafi Mar. 19, 1935 2,431,550 Gary Nov. 25, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Germany Sept. 9, 1939 

